Mega Man's Battle Through Time
by Carnath
Summary: Mega man gets tricked into travelling into the future. Without megaman will Wily finally win the wily wars?
1. Chapter 1 & 2

Chapter 1

"Don't you ever get tired of losing Wily?" Mega man said as his super shot blazed at the evil scientist latest creation.

"One of these days it'll be different. Just you watch!" He yelled as he disappeared into the blue warp.

            Mega man quickly finished off the robot with another charged up shot. Wily's latest attempt to stop the blue bomber was of course easily thwarted. In fact Mega man was almost becoming bored with how easy Wily's robots had become. It was if the scientist wasn't even trying any more. Since it had been in a relatively remote area, Mega man didn't bother checking for damage. Mother Nature could fix that problem if there was one. He pressed the button on his arm and teleported back to Dr. Light's lab. The good scientist was busy typing away at his computer and hardly noticed as the blue form appeared behind him.

            "Whatcha doin?" He asked as he waked towards the computer. Dr. Light jumped.

            "Mega man... I didn't see you come in." He turned back to the screen, his face told Mega man he was concentrating hard. "Wily's up to something. I can't tell what, but my scanners have been picking up energy readings that I have no idea what they are."

            "Well if it's anything like the latest robots, it shouldn't be a problem." Mega man said taking his victory stance.

            "That's what worries me. Wily's smarter than that. He wouldn't be making worthless robots like that unless he had a plan. It would explain why your victories have been so easy."

            Mega man only nodded.

            "Anyway, there's nothing I can do for the time being, so it looks like we'll have to play a waiting game. And I can't even send you in to spy since we don't know where his base is."

            "But you said you were getting energy readings, right? Can't you pinpoint them?"

            "I've tried, but that's the funny thing. This energy comes from everywhere. That's why it's so hard to nail down. I don't know what Wily is up to, but be sure it'll be something major." Dr. Light answered.

            Suddenly an orange haired man appeared on the view screen.

            "Your right Dr. Light. Whatever it is, it's something even my computers are having trouble with. It's like he's fracturing space itself." Came the reply of Dr. Cossack.

            "Fracturing space? Is that possible?" Dr. Light said, worried.

            "According to these readings, it might be. Who knows with Wily."

            "Who knows indeed." Dr. Light said as he switched off the monitor.

Chapter 2

            "So what's all the hubbub about?" came a voice from the door.

            "Break man!" Mega man cried. "Where'd you come from?"

            "Nowhere as usual." He said grinning. He walked over and hoisted himself onto a table to sit.

            "Wily's up to something, and no one can figure out what." Mega man said walking over to sit beside him.

            "So? He'll fail again like he has in the past. We can beat him at anything he does." Break man said as he took his shield off and set it beside him.

            "Let's not get too over-confident. He's got both Dr. Light and Dr. Cossack going nuts. Even the palace of power is trying to figure out what's going on." 

The palace had indeed been working hard. Ever since Dr. Light had contacted princess Lana, the whole N team had been working nearly around the clock. With the three pooling their resources, they hoped to come up with an answer. Mega man had been staying at the lab to aid Dr. Light and Roll with their work since Lana already had Kid Icuris, Simon Belmont and Kevin to help her. Dr. Cossack had all his computers to work with. Beside, he preferred to work alone as far as Mega man knew. Suddenly an alarm went off and Dr. Light rushed into the room.

"What's going on?" Mega man asked as he jumped up from the table and rushed to his creator's side.

"It's another robot. It must be Wily. This time he's sent one into a city. My scanners are picking up something odd too. This robot is stronger than the rest you've faced lately. Be on your guard." Dr. Light said without taking his eyes off the screen.

"I'll go with him. Can't let you have all the fun." Break man said.

Dr. Light hadn't seen him, but was so used to the red clad robot just appearing so he waved it from his mind and nodded.

"The co-ordinates are set. Good luck!" Dr. Light called as Mega man hit a button on his arm and teleported out.

Dr. Light continued working on his computer as the two disappeared. This one wasn't only more powerful than the latest slew of robots, it was more powerful than anything Wily had created. Had Wily not built this one? If so who had and why did they send it to attack innocent people? Dr. Light continued to work away and get as much info as he could on the robot master.


	2. Chapter 3 & 4

Chapter 3

Mega man emerged in a mass of screaming people. They were all fleeing from a large form in the middle of the Town Square. As Mega man got closer, it was a robot master. One Mega man hadn't seen before.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Mega man asked, his arm cannon already charging up.

"Your executioner." The robot said back. It was at least 2 ½ times the size of Mega man and its fists were huge. Mega man had to leap backwards as the huge robot drove its fist into the spot Mega man had just been standing.

"Funny, Wily has had many a robot named that, but they all seem to end up in the scrap heap." Mega man said, releasing his charged up shot. The huge robot raised a fist and reflected the shot. Mega man gasped.

"My plasma doesn't work? Oh great." Mega man lunged back again as the hulking machine leaped into the air and tried to land on him.

"You been taking Guts man lessons?"

"Hold still you little runt!" the robot said, jumping again. Mega man dodged and saw his brother coming up from behind. He had forgotten Break man was there. The red robot jumped and landed on the enemy's back. He started pumping the thing full of plasma, and since the fists couldn't block the shots, each shot hit square and did the damage. The hulking robot violently started thrashing, trying to get the annoying pest off of its back. The robot suddenly stopped and Mega man thought they had won. But instead the hulking robot released a massive electric charge. Mega man and Break man took the full hit, unable to dodge since it was an area attack. But it had drained the enemy and the brothers charged up and released powered up shots. The master took both hits in the chest and back and smoke started to come from it. It retreated into a forest with the two brothers close behind.

"It's not like one of Wily's bots to run from a fight. Even if they know they'll lose." Mega man said as they ran.

"Maybe he's using a new tactic. Like a trap." Break man called back.

"That's hardly new. It's almost expected." Mega man yelled as he dodged a branch. An electric spark flew by him and he barely dodged. "This guys getting annoying. We gotta finish him before he hurts somebody."

"Especially us." Break man said with a grin. Mega man returned the grin and sent off a ball of plasma. It smacked harmlessly into a tree as the robot master dodged. "Man that guys too agile for his size." They trailed him to a clearing where the huge robot had disappeared. They did, however, see a warp. A green warp.

"What the? I thought all warps were blue. Or at least rainbow like the dimension warps. What's with this one?" Break man asked.

"Beats me, but I won't let that thing get away." Mega man said as he dove through.

"Mega man wait! Don't.. oh great." Break man called too late. A shadowy figure sat in the bushes.

"Go on, go through. Follow him in. Do it!" said the figure. But it wasn't to be. Break man, though usually the adventurous one, didn't trust that warp. He instead transported back to Dr. Light's lab with a streak of red light to get advice from his creator.

"No no no… so close. I almost had them both. Oh well at least I finally got rid of that pest." Said the figure stepping out into the open. "Though I would have liked a closer look at that robot that came through. But it did my job for me. Now Megaland will fall." The gray bearded man said to himself, laughing. "Dr. Wily will reign supreme! Oh I do love my lil time warp." He said as the green warp closed and Dr. Wily jumped into his flying saucer.

Chapter 4

Break man appeared in the middle of Dr. Light's lab, but could see no one around. He went to the scanner and it showed Dr. Light just outside the lab, along with Roll. He went through the gate to see them bending over some flowers that had grown near the south wall of the lab.

"Dr. Light. Are you busy?" The red clad robot asked as he walked over to the two.

"Oh Break man, you're back. I take it you were victorious. And no, I'm not busy." the scientists said while wiping off his hands and standing up.

"Maybe. It's Mega man. He…" Before he could finish, Dr. Light had grabbed Break man's shoulders.

"What's wrong with Mega man? What did Wily do? I knew that robot could be trouble." He said, his face full of fear. Exhaustion was in his eyes and Break man could tell he had been working on something for too long. The fear was influenced by his weariness.

"Wily? We didn't see him. But there was a new robot master. But that's not why I'm here. We were fighting the robot when it took off and went through a green warp. Mega man went through, but for some reason, I didn't follow. Call it a premonition or something, but it didn't seem right." Break man said, trying to calm the scientist down.

"Green? Did you say a Green warp?" The scientist said, a look of confusion on his face.

"Yeah. It was weird. Mega man didn't even think about it, he just jumped through like something was drawing him to the other side." Break man said as the two walked inside. Roll followed a short while later.

"Green… I doubt it's possible the color of the warps can be changed by normal means. After all there is still little we know about them. Maybe the others have something on this." Dr. Light went to work on his computer and in a short moment, Dr. Cossack, an orange haired scientists, and the Harts, friends of Dr. Light and Mega man, appeared on the monitor. He told them what Break man had told him, and the four scientists started their technical babble. Break man simply went and leaned against the wall, only half-listening to the conversation.

"Probably something with what Wily has been up to. It does go with the robot master theory." Dr. Cossack said. Dr. Light nodded and after a short discussion, Dr. Light closed the link. He turned to Break man and had a grim expression on his face.

"Fracturing time and space… If Wily has figured out how to bridge such a gap, we could be in trouble. Break man, I'd like you to go back to the place you were at. See if you can find out what Wily is up to. Any hints we can get would be a great help." Break man nodded and after giving Dr. Light coordinates and the warp was set, Break man was back near where he'd left Mega man. But when the red robot looked around, he couldn't find anything that would be of use to solving the green warp. And what was worse, the warp was gone.


	3. Chapter 5 & 6

Chapter 5

Mega man appeared in a field but something was definitely wrong. Everything seemed far too advanced. The evil robot master was just disappearing over a hill and Mega man took off after him. He was just reaching the top of the hill when an electric spark sent him flying backwards. He managed to get to his feet and charged up his buster before going over the hill. He leaped into the air and released the shot, but the robot master wasn't there. It was already well down a beaten path that led to a small town. Mega man took off again not wanting to let the robot hurt any innocent people. Was Wily trying to replay a scheme ages ago but in a different land? Mega man remembered how he had become an outcast when trying to stop Wily in the past. He hoped it wouldn't happen again. He was lighter and quicker and seemed to be gaining on the robot when a red streak, accompanied by a white streak, shot down in front of the robot master.

"That's as far as you go Spark Mandrill." The one figure said.

"This time you won't escape." The other said.

"You guys might defeat me, but you won't get Sigma. He'll stop you, every one of you!" came the reply of the now named Spark Mandrill. Spark Mandrill? Why had Wily stopped ending his robots with "man"? The two figures that appeared earlier attacked. One with an arm cannon, the other with some sort of energy saber. The robot master disappeared in an explosion and the two figures retracted their weapons. Mega man started running up to them to find out where he was. The two figures saw him coming and re-armed their weapons.

"Hold it maverick or your dust like your friend here!" the white one called out. Mega man froze in his tracks. He didn't know what a maverick was, but he knew that two plasma cannons and a light saber were aimed right at him.

"Maverick? What's a maverick? And chill out. I'm on the good side." Mega man said holding his hands up.

"You're either incredibly dumb, or… incredibly dumb." the red one said. "You know perfectly well a defect is a maverick."

"Defect? Now hold on a minute here. I'm no defect. I was chasing that robot master before he could cause any more harm. He was attacking a town while me and Break man had tried to stop him." Mega man stopped short just as he realized his brother was no longer with him.

"Break man? Who or what is a Break man?" the white one said.

"Break man is my brother. Oh and I'm Mega man." The two robots looked at each other, then back at Mega man.

"I don't recall Dr. Cain making a Mega man or a Break man do you Zero?" the white one said. The red robot, Zero, shook his head.

"I think you'd better come to Dr. Cain's lab. All robots who aren't made by Dr. Cain need to be checked out. We can't have Sigma making them. If he knows how to make them, we could be in trouble X." Zero said.

"Okay now I have a question. Who is Sigma? Is he one of Wily's robots? Is that what he's been up to?" Mega man asked.

"You don't know who Sigma is? And who's Wily? You'd better come with us." Zero said as he moved forward to grab Mega man's arm. Mega man didn't resist since he knew that since they were robots they'd have teleporters and contact had to be made for more than one person to teleport. Besides, they still had their weapons drawn and he knew he wouldn't get far. Mega man let the robot grab his arm when a horrible thought crossed his mind. What if Wily had set this whole thing up? But his thought came too late as they disappeared in streaks of light.

Chapter 6

"What do you make of him Dr. Cain?" X asked as the scientist examined Mega man. He had to use scanners since he was unable to figure out how to access Mega man's internal systems.

"I'm not sure. His components are so out of date yet he seems advanced. Almost to the level all of the ones are that I've created." Dr. Cain said as he scratched his chin. Zero walked up and knocked on Mega man's head. The robot winced, but no one seemed to notice.

"He doesn't seem to know anything about what's going on about Sigma or the mavericks or any of it. He seems to be searching for someone by the name of Dr. Light and Dr. Wily." Zero said. Dr. Cain suddenly became pale. X rushed forward as the scientist slumped back. X also seemed a bit taken back, but managed to remain at his feet.

"Dr… Light?" Dr. Cain asked in a shaky voice.

"Yah, you know him?" Mega man said, a glimmer of hope he'd find out what was going on. Zero looked from one robot to the other, while holding his creator.

"Okay what's going on? Who is this Dr. Light?" Zero asked.

"Dr. Light is my creator…" X said distantly. Mega man's eyes flew wide open.

"He's your WHAT? He would never replace me. Would he?" Mega man asked.

"What's your name?" Dr. Cain asked.

"Mega man." The blue bomber replied. If it hadn't been for Zero, the scientist would have been flat out on the floor. X was looking disorientated and Dr. Cain couldn't even seem to breathe.

"Now I recognize the name. You were Dr. Light's second creation. Your original name is Rock. You have a brother and sister by the name of Break man and Roll." X rattled off as if in a daze.

"How do you know so much about me?" Mega man asked. He reached and activated his communicator but got nothing but static. "Aw geez. I hope it didn't short out again." Dr. Cain looked at the floor when he realized he'd have to tell Mega man the news.

"Mega man, I don't know how, or why, but you're no longer in your own time." He started. Mega man had an odd look on his face that no one could read. "X was created by Dr. Light shortly before he passed away. I found X's capsule and used his schematics to create others in his image and some went beserk. Those are the mavericks. Sigma is their leader and…" Dr. Cain stopped short when he realized that Mega man was no longer listening. The blue bomber was slowly walking around the lab and then sank to his knees.

"Dr. Light… gone?" was all Mega man could say. No one moved to aid him. They all knew that this famous hero would want to be alone. "The green warp… it was a time warp?" He managed to stammer after a short pause. X walked up and put a hand on Mega man's shoulder. The sensation was weird for both.

"Mega man, if Wily created that warp then there may be a way to recreate it. We can bring up the files on when Dr. Wily was a threat. I'm sure there'll be something we can do." X said. Mega man just stood, still staring at the ground.

"Wily… he's finally done it. He got rid of me for good." Mega man mumbled as he walked to a gate that led who knows where. Zero moved to intercept, but Dr. Cain waved him back.

"Leave him be. Keep an eye on him, but let him be. I'll do what I can, but I doubt I can recreate the time rift." Dr. Cain said turning to his computer. Zero and X teleported outside of the building and started to follow the blue form.

                                    *                      *                      *

Break man ran through the forest. He would find Wily and force him to undo what he'd done. He didn't care if it took him the rest of his life. Break man would get his brother back. He rounded a bend and slammed right into Slash man.

"Hey watch where… well if it isn't the ex-pests brother. How nice to see you. Dr. Wily will be pleased when I return your head to him." The spiky haired robot said while bringing his claws to bear on the red form.

"I don't think so." Break man said, jumping to avoid a swipe of the large claws. He had heard what they do from Mega man and didn't want to let the robot master get a swing in. He released a spray of shots, but Slash man took them in stride. Break man recalled that plasma hadn't been Mega man's weapon of choice against the bladed menace, but it was all he had. He tried to keep his distance since Slash man's weapon was strictly close range. The robot master could leap and dive incredible distances so Break man had to keep his guard up even when he was far away. Break man dodged another lunge when two hands gripped his shoulders. He struggled to break free but was lifted off the ground. He could feel a sharp tinge on his neck and he started to slip away. He managed to utter "Shade man" just before his world went black. 


	4. Chapter 7 & 8

Chapter 7

Mega man walked through a forest trying to sort out his thoughts, but he kept thinking about Dr. Light. He couldn't believe that he had been so foolish. He should have let Dr. Light analyze the portal before jumping through. Now everything he held dear was gone. He sidestepped just in time to avoid a tree, but he wasn't even aware he had done it. He continued for another short while when a plasma shot nearly hit his shoulder. On instinct, Mega man had an arm cannon up and was firing at his attacker. His shot hit a mechanical bird. In response to Mega man's counter, the bird drove it's bill into the tree and sent out a robotic worm. The worm didn't seem to have a main attack, but its touch did sting Mega man. Mega man quickly did away with the bird and worm and continued on, feeling no better than before. The brief fight had been able to take his mind off his problems, but not for long enough. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks.

"I know you're back there X. You may be a great fighter, but you're no stalker." Mega man said without turning around. Sure enough the white warrior stepped from behind a tree and walked up to him.

"Dr. Cain just wanted me to make sure your okay. After all, your not used to our time yet." X said as he stood beside the blue bomber.

"X, tell me more about Sigma." Mega man asked. The question took X by surprise, but he didn't show it.

"Well shortly after I was discovered, Dr. Cain used my schematics to make many reploids. Sigma was one of the most powerful, almost my equivalent, but something wasn't quite right. You see Dr. Light gave me the ability to think on my own and make my own decisions. Unlike your bioroid status, I was programmed that way. Anyway, Sigma had that ability and broke the first rule of robotics, which is to never harm a human being. I guess he figured he was superior to them and wanted to rule. He convinced other reploids that his ideas were the best and they joined him. Spark Mandrill was one of them. Zero is a reploid, but he's loyal to the rules of robotics and a trusted friend. He's superior to me in power, but unlike me, he can't use defeated enemies weapons." Mega man listened intensely.

"What weapon did you receive from Spark Mandrill?" Mega man asked.

"The electric spark." Was all X said. Suddenly X tipped forward and fell to his knees.

"X!!! What's wrong?" Mega man asked, rushing to help the robot.

"I don't know. My diagnostic is showing normal, but I feel light-headed." Then X started to faze, as if he were disappearing.

"We better get you back to Dr. L…" the name caught in his throat and he paused, but only briefly. "Dr. Cain." X nodded and they teleported back to the lab. Mega man had gotten the coordinates so he could now warp himself back to the lab. They appeared in the lab where Dr. Cain was bending over Zero who looked to be in the same condition.

"Dr. Cain, what's wrong with us?" X asked worriedly.

"I don't know. It's not mechanical as far as I can tell." The scientist rushed to a table and grabbed a scanner. He scanned his two robots as well as Mega man. After doing some tests on his computer he went back to help Zero to his feet. "It's odd. Mega man is completely unaffected by what's happening to you two. He looked up and his eyes rested on Mega man. "Oh no. I get it now. If Mega man is here, then he can't be in his own time. If he isn't in his own time, he can't defend it against Wily." He rushed up to the computer to bring up the history files. Mega man's eyes widened in shock.

"History is changing. Wily won the war and everything is changing." Mega man said.

"Precisely. Dr. Light is killed and therefore… X won't exist. And neither will any of the reploids." Dr. Cain looked at Zero and back at X. "Mega man we have to get you back to your own time and fast."

Chapter 8

Break man awoke in a cage. His vision was blurred from the energy drain compliments of Shade man, but it was starting to wear off. He squinted to try and see and he managed to glimpse a computer against one wall and no one around. Break man looked at his electrified cage and knew he'd just have to wait until Wily came for whatever reason. Sure enough the evil scientist did show up soon, realizing Break man would be awake by now. The scientist walked over to the computer and flipped a switch. Bright lights came on and Break man had to shield his eyes. It was then that he noticed his helmet and shield were missing. They were on a table across the room.

"Ah your awake. A tad early, but that's okay."

"What do you want Wily? And what have you done with Mega man?" The red robot yelled.

"What I want? The same thing I've always wanted. To conquer Megaland. Now with that pest out of the way, I can finally achieve that goal." The evil scientist said gleefully.

"In your dreams. The N team will stop you!" Break man said, his hopes already in doubt.

"Hardly. Without Mega man they can't stand against my robot masters. Oh and don't worry, Mega man won't be coming back to help them. At least not for about a couple hundred years."

"What do you mean?" Break man said, his eyes wide in shock.

"Oh I could tell you, but it's more fun to watch you squirm. Just let me say, his _time is up!" The scientists said while leaving the room. The emphasis on "time" hung in Break man's mind. What had Dr. Light and the others been talking about? Something to do with fracturing time and space? Had Wily found a way to send Mega man through time? The questions ran through his mind as Bass walked in, Treble close behind._

"Dr. Wily may prefer to have you sit and suffer, but I don't like it. I'd rather just blast you into oblivion. That way there'd be no way you could cause any trouble." Bass said. To accent his feelings, he let off a shot that hit Break man square in the chest. Treble growled and paced around the cage, as a lion would circle its prey before the strike. "That wouldn't be wise Treble. It's an electrified cage. It'll hurt you too." Bass said, stepping forward. Meanwhile, Break man just scowled at the gray robot standing just out of his reach. Break man mumbled something and Bass sneered.

"What'd you say? Speak up boy." Bass said moving a little closer. Again Break man mumbled with a grin on his face. Bass moved closer, his arm cannon charging up. "I told you to speak u…" before Bass could finish, Break man's hand shot out and grabbed the surprised Bass. With a tug, Break man pulled Bass against the bars of the cage and a large crackling noise arose as metal and electricity collided. Break man shielded his eyes as well as his body from the sparks that were flying. Then, just as suddenly as it had started, the sound stopped. Bass fell to the ground unconscious. The bars had run out of electricity from frying Bass. Break man pushed on the weakened bars and they gave way almost instantly. Break man jumped from the cage and ran for his helmet. The next thing he knew, he was pinned on the ground, a growl just behind him. Treble. How could he have forgotten so easily?

"Uh… hiya Treble. Could you get off my back?" Break man asked. Treble growled at him as if in answer. Break man placed his hands on the ground and thrust upwards. With a yelp, Treble was flung against the far wall. Break man got up and reached the table. He puts his helmet on and grabbed his shield. He reached for the teleporter attached to the shield and pressed a button. Sure enough he disappeared in a red streak just as Dr. Wily walked in to watch him zip out.

"Noooooo!" Dr. Wily wailed as his captive vanished. "I knew I should have activated the defense barriers." The evil scientist rushed over to check on Bass. The robot was in bad shape and Dr. Wily went to work repairing his creation. But with each moment Dr. Wily uttered curses at Break man. After a while, Bass was revived and Wily went to wash his hands. "That pest is getting to be as bad as Mega man." 


	5. Chapter 9 & 10

Chapter 9

Dr. Cain worked away at his computers, but with history changing, so did the files he was trying to look at. Towns and cities had been destroyed when they had been fine just seconds ago. Wily's rule was clear across all of Megaland and parts of other worlds. Mega man, X and Zero had been trying to keep each other busy. They were having a fake battle when Zero was forced to one knee because of weakness from the changes in history.

"You okay Zero?" X asked, walking over. Zero held up a hand to stop him.

"Yeah I'm fine. I hate this. When it was Sigma, we could easily fight. But this is something we can't battle. I feel weak and vulnerable." Zero said, disgust ringing in his voice.

"Don't worry Zero. I know you're not weak. This is something we'll have to overcome together." X said. He looked over at Mega man. "What's on your mind?" Mega man looked up.

"Nothing." He said, shaking his head. "But Zero's right. We can't fight what's happening. If I hadn't jumped through that warp, this never would have happened. I'm smarter than that."

"Look Mega man. You were just doing your job. There was nothing you could…" X started.

"But there was something I could have done. I could have listened to Break man. He said there was something wrong. But I didn't listen. And now because of me, Wily's won." Mega man walked towards the gate and paused just long enough to let it rise, then he walked through.

"He's taking this pretty hard. It was bad enough he lost everyone, now he's going to live in his worst nightmare. A world where Wily ruled." Zero said as he watched the gate close.

*                                  *                                  *

"Break man? Where'd you come from? And what happened, you look terrible!" Dr. Light said as the red warrior appeared in his lab.

"From Dr. Wily's. He captured me and was holding me captive. I managed to escape with a little info. He definitely had something to do with Mega man's disappearance. He kept referring to Mega man's time being up." Dr. Light nodded. 

"We pretty much figured that part out. There's a tear in the fabric of time where Wily got rid of Mega man. Dr. Cossack discovered it while you were gone."  
            "Can you reopen the tear?" Break man asked, his hopes rising. Dr. Light shook his head with a sad look.

"Even if I could, there's no way you could get back. We'd have to find out how Wily created to warp so that you could duplicate the process wherever Mega man went." He explained. Break man formed an arm cannon.

"Dr. Light. I'm going back in."

"You're what?  I don't think so. Wily will have that place crawling with robots by now. There's no way I'll lose you too." Dr. Light's voice caught and Break man eased up.

"Don't worry Dr. Light. I'll get the info and be back before Wily knew I was there." Break man said. Dr. Light looked worried and sighed.

"Very well. But if your detected, get out before it's too late. At the slightest buzzer, I want you out of there." Dr. Light said sternly.

"Okay, okay. I'll be careful." Break man said chuckling. He used his teleporter to return him to the last position he had been. The prison room inside Wily's fortress. No one was around thankfully. Break man exited the prison room and walked down a long hallway. He came to a T intersection and was about to walk around the corner when he heard voices and stopped short. He peered around the corner. Dr. Wily wasn't there as he had hoped, but he did find a small surprise. Dr. Cossack and Pharaoh man were standing down the hall. Dr. Cossack was studying a computer terminal and Pharaoh man was standing guard. Break man was just coming around the corner as a charged up Pharaoh shot screamed by him.

"Who's there? Reveal yourself or I'll destroy you!" came Pharaoh man's voice.

"Whoa chill. It's me!" Break man said, walking out slowly his arms in front of him.

"Break man? What in the world are you doing here?" Dr. Cossack asked, looking only half surprised.

"Probably the same thing as you doc. Trying to figure out how to get Mega man back." The red robot said, joining the two.

"Hmm. Well from what I've found out from Wily's computers, is he's somewhere in the future. Distant future I might add." Dr. Cossack said.

"Out of Wily's hair no doubt. Dr. Light said there must have been a special device to open the portal. If we can find it, we can get him back." Break man said.

"Assuming he hasn't already destroyed the device." Pharaoh man said.

"Dr. Wily wouldn't do that. He puts too much work into his inventions to do such a thing. Besides maybe he figured he'd need it in case I got too troublesome." Break man said, a grin on his face.

"It is possible. Come. We must find the device." Dr. Cossack said, turning.

"Oh you won't be finding anything while I'm around." Came Slash man's voice from behind.

"Oh this I really don't need." Break man said, charging up his arm cannon. 

Chapter 10

The robot master charged, his blades flying at amazing speeds. Break man dodged and parried, being pushed farther and farther back. Something was too familiar. Break man knew what was happening. He didn't even need Dr. Cossack's warning, though he was too busy to even hear it anyway. He whirled and sent off his super shot, which hit Shade man square in the chest, knocking the robot to the ground.

"You can't catch me the same way twice in one day, Slash man." Break man said in a mocking tone. Slash man growled and leaped at Break man. Break man continued to dodge and shoot as he looked for a room where the device could be hidden. He rounded a corner a saw a gate. He gave up on Slash man and ran his hardest to get through the gate. The gate went up as he approached and Break man dived, turned and fired. The shot knocked Slash man back, which was just enough time for the gate to shut. Break man quickly pumped the gate mechanism full of plasma. It wouldn't hold long, but it would be a temporary seal on the gate. No one was entering or leaving for the time being. Break man turned and looked for the first time at the room he was in. His eyes widened as he took in his surroundings. This must have been Wily's main control room. There were computers everywhere, as well as viewscreens, devices and, of course, three guard Joe's. They hadn't seen Break man come in, so he was able to take them out without too much difficulty. He started working on the computers to find out what he could on time travel and Dr. Wily's knowledge in the field when a familiar voice came from outside the gate.

"Get that gate open you fool. And hurry. Who knows what he's doing in there!" Came the voice of Dr. Wily. Slash man's claw went right through the gate and started cutting a huge hole in it. Break man worked as fast as he could. Time was running out. There was a loud clang as the gate fell, but before Break man could reach his shield to activate his teleporter, Wily's common cry as he fled for his life could be heard. Break man chanced a look around the gate and saw Pharaoh man's smoking cannon and Dr. Cossack picking up the Slash Claw.

"Dr. Cossack! Where'd you get too?" Break man asked, shocked the scientist hadn't been discovered.

"Well when I saw Slash man, I had Pharaoh man and myself hide in a small alcove. We would've helped, but you seemed to be doing fine on your own. Oh, can you make use of this?" The scientist said, holding out the Slash Claw adapter.

"Sure can." Break man said, taking the weapon and placing it in his belt. "Wily won't be long. He'll just get some reinforcements and be back."

"I agree. We must act quickly." Dr. Cossack said, starting to look around the room. "You sure picked a hell of a room to hide in."

"Tell me about it." Break man said with a laugh. He let Dr. Cossack take over on the computer as Break man and Pharaoh man looked for anything important in the room. Break man found a small rectangular box with what looked like a camera lens on the end. He held it up and looked it over. There was a button on top, but when he pushed it, it wasn't a portal. Instead it was a hologram of Dr. Wily with 6 robots by his side. They went into a previous programmed maneuver, but since they knew it was a hologram, no one reacted to it. Break man destroyed the device thinking it was part of a plan of Wily's. Pharaoh man wasn't being quite so specific. He was just dumping device after device into a sack to be checked out later. Break man joined in on the idea and dumped a handful of items into the sack as Wily's voice came from the gate.

"Put it all back, Proto man. Or I'll blow you and your friends into oblivion!" Wily said, anger shaking on his voice.  
            "Sorry doc, but I don't think so." Break man said as he pulled his shield off his back while simultaneously using the Slash Claw to destroy the main computer. "Time to go Dr. Cossack." Pharaoh man was already reaching for his creator and teleporting out with the sack of devices. Break man followed suit. Normally he couldn't have teleported out, but with the main computer gone, the fortresses defenses and the barriers around Wily's fortress were down, not to mention all the weapons.

"Find out what they took!" Wily barked to his robots. The robot masters started searching around, when Guts man walked up to him.

"Uh boss. The time-teleporter is gone." Said the hulking robot.

"What?!? After them you fools. Find them and destroy them. Get that device back. If they find out they have it, they can rescue the blue pest." He yelled as his robots took off out the gate. 


	6. Chapter 11 & 12

Chapter 11

Mega man had been sleeping, but now he was wide awake and running to the main part of the lab. There were alarms going off all over the place and a voice requesting the "Maverick Hunters" report to the lab. Mega man wasn't a maverick hunter, but he could help. He entered the lab and saw Dr. Cain giving the low-down to X and Zero. Four mavericks were on a rampage. Somehow, they had gotten word that Spark Mandrill had been destroyed and they were out for revenge. Amongst the four were Sting Chameleon, Chill Penguin, Storm Eagle and Armored Armadillo. Dr. Cain saw Mega man come in and motioned for the blue bomber to come over.

"Mega man I'm glad you're here. Four of the mavericks are attacking and though I'm sure X and Zero can handle them, it would be nice if they had help."

"I'd be glad to. It'd be something to do and get my mind off... troubles." Mega man said, forming his arm cannon.

"Just don't get in my way." Zero said teleporting out. Fortunately, the four mavericks were in a pretty close area, supposedly to support back up to their allies. The three warriors of good appeared in an area not too far off, and decided to split up. X went after Armored Armadillo and Sting Chameleon and Zero charged after Storm Eagle. That left Chill Penguin for Mega man. Mega man started running for where the maverick was located. He found the robot releasing blasts of ice air on a group of humans. He ran up, his arm cannon blazing. Chill penguin turned his freeze breath on Mega man, but the blue bomber was ready for the attack and dodged. He started to charge up, when the penguin slid on his stomach and crashed into Mega man sending him flying into a building. Pain shot up his back at the force of the impact, but he was back on his feet quickly. Chill Penguin wasn't aiming his freeze breath at Mega man, but rather was forming two frozen statues of the maverick. Mega man dodged one of the statues as it was sent flying at him, but punched at the second one. His fist became incased in ice, and he was unable to fire. He ran behind a building and tried to shatter the ice.

Meanwhile, X was having his own trouble. Armored armadillo was reflecting everything he shot at him, while Sting Chameleon would blend into the surrounding area and attack from behind. X switched to the Electric Spark which he had acquired from Spark Mandrill and left off a few shots, but it didn't faze Sting Chameleon, and Armored armadillo just reflected them. He tapped his helmet and activated his communicator.

"Zero, Mega man, I'm in trouble. How are you guys doing?" He said into his comm. Zero's voice came up first.

"Not good. This guy is staying out of my range. I can't hit him."

"I'm having a great time." Mega man said. "He froze my arm and now I can't fire. What about that weapon you acquired? Is it of any use?"

"Not against these guys. He keeps blocking my shots, and I can't even see the other guy." X said, dodging a spiked tongue that appeared next to out of nowhere.

"Blocking your shots? Just like Spark Mandrill did with me. Is there even a brief second he drops his guard? Or can you maybe get behind him?" Mega man called out.

"Yeah. After he attacks with his rolling attack. But it's just for a second." X said.

"Nail him then. Maybe you'll get lucky." Mega man said. He had to cut his words short as Chill Penguin chose that time to come flying around the corner and slide into Mega man. He checked his energy meter. It was below half. "All right buddy, time for you to die." Mega man took his hand incased in ice and slammed it into Chill Penguin. The maverick stumbled backwards from the blow, and the force had destroyed the ice on Mega man's hand. He reformed his arm cannon and sent off a spray of shots. The maverick took every shot square in the chest. It started to smoke, and a few sparks went off just as the maverick exploded. Mega man grabbed the Shotgun Ice adapter, and went to help Zero.

X had taken Mega man's advice and shot just after Armored Armadillo stopped rolling around. The shot connected and Armored Armadillo let out a cry as his armor was sent flying from his body. The maverick now had no protection from attacks, and went down quickly. X picked up the Rolling Shield and activated it. He started to charge up his cannon and used the new weapon. A blue sphere surrounded Mega man, and Sting Chameleon's attacks simply reflected away.

"Now who's got the advantage?" X said, taunting the green robot. Unfortunately, X couldn't switch weapons, nor could he attack while the shield was in place. So instead, he turned and ran towards Zero.

X and Mega man arrived at roughly the same time. Zero was caught in a vertical tornado blast and Storm Eagle was just flying around, occasionally dive-bombing the red hero. Mega man let out a blast of Shotgun Ice at Storm Eagle, and managed to hit a wing. Storm Eagle, no longer able to fly properly, fell to the ground. The tornado also dissipated since Storm Eagle wasn't concentrating on it, and Zero landed rather heavily on the ground. Zero lay still, the only sign of life being the crystal on his forehead blinking.

"What's that?" Mega man asked, pointing to the crystal.

"It's an energy center. In case we can't tell that our own energy is down, the crystal flashes to point out we're low on energy. Though if it gets shattered, it can shut us down. Though only Zero and I have them." X explained, while going over to Zero. "You'd better get back to the lab. You're in bad shape." He said, helping Zero to his feet.

"I'm fine." Zero said, pulling out his light saber. Storm Eagle had broken his wing free and was airborne again. Sting Chameleon also finally caught up with them. X tried to convince Zero to go back, but the warrior refused to leave. He insisted his energy was fine. So X took on Storm Eagle with his long-range arm cannon, and Mega man aided Zero in attacking Sting Chameleon. Storm Eagle was no match for the long-range plasma cannon, but his speed proved to give X far more trouble than he'd wanted. The dive bombs and tornado attack kept X on his guard and moving, but in the end, X had been dealing out all the damage and only taking some. X took the Storm Tornado and used it to trap Sting Chameleon. The lizard maverick started swirling around so fast, he was unable to blend in with anything, but the tornado didn't last long and X had to repeatedly use it. However, it was enough for Zero's light saber and Mega man's arm cannon to finish him off. They took the Chameleon Sting and returned to the lab.

*                      *                      *

Break man didn't appear in Dr. Light's lab like he had planned. Instead, he appeared beside Dr. Cossack and Pharaoh Man in Dr. Cossack's lab.

"Break man? What are you doing here?" The scientist asked, looking confused.

"I don't know. I should be in Dr. Light's lab. Maybe my teleporter is malfunctioning. I'll have Dr. Light look at it when I get back to the lab. For now, we should see what we ripped off of Wily." Said the red robot, reaching for the sack Pharaoh man was holding. He dumped the contents on a lab table.

"Agreed. We might find something useful." Dr. Cossack said, walking over to the table and starting to go through the devices. There were many things that none of the three could make heads or tails of, but there were some devices that looked as though they gave away their purpose. One was a chip, that after being scanned, that would drain energy at a constant rate from whomever it was placed in. Another was a small attachment that fit nicely around Break man's arm cannon. It had two weapons already programmed in. The Metal Blade and the Skull shield. Undoubtedly Wily had planned to give it to one of his weaponless robots such as Guts man so they would have weapon abilities. Unfortunately, most of the devices were alien to the three and would need to be tested before they could be put to use. Dr. Cossack led the group to a small testing chamber, used mostly to disarm bombs and traps. The devices were placed in the room one at a time, activated from outside the room, and after the use discovered, were either turned off, or destroyed if they couldn't be turned off. Suddenly, Dr. Cossacks computer started to beep, notifying them of an incoming communication. Dr. Cossack went to the computer and Dr. Light appeared on the screen.

"Dr. Cossack, have you gotten word of Break man? He's been gone an awfully long time and I'm dreadfully worried." Dr. Light's worried voice said.

"I'm right here Dr. Light." Break man said, walking forward. "Something was wrong and I couldn't teleport back to the lab. I instead ended up here with Dr. Cossack and Pharaoh man."

"Thank god you're all right. Reason being, there's a huge uproar at Wily's castle. Seems like he's massing a major army of robots, and he's on the rampage. Seems you did something unfavorable." Dr. Light said with a worried, but sly grin.

"We must've swiped the time-portal." Dr. Cossack jumped in. "It must be one of the devices we haven't yet checked." The scientist hurried off to test more devices. Break man grinned and looked back at Dr. Light.

"Sorry I hadn't contacted you, but we got caught up in the devices. What about my teleporter? Can you fix it?"

"It shouldn't be a problem. It may just be a mix-up in your teleportation settings. We'll work on it when you get back. For now, though, I'd recommend you avoid using it except in dire emergencies." Dr. Light said. "For now, go back and help Dr. Cossack, but keep me updated!" He said with a stern look.

"Yes, sir." Break man said as he closed the connection. He went back as Dr. Cossack was about to test another device. It was curved at one end, and ended in a square back. It was roughly three inches long, and had what looked to be a port which the device could be hooked up to a computer. Dr. Cossack hit a button and there was a bright flash of light. When the light faded, there stood a green portal in the testing room.

Chapter 12

Sigma paced around his command center. X and Zero were bad enough, but now some new robot named Mega man was helping destroy his robots. A character hidden by the shadows spoke up.

"I can even the odds. I'll get Zero out of the way for you."

"You've already failed me once Vile. Why should I give you another chance?" Sigma said in disgust.

"Because my new carrier has a special feature. Anyone who tries to destroy it will be so severely damaged, they won't be able to battle. I haven't been able to test it though, so I don't know if the effects are permanent." Vile said, stepping into the light. His purple suit of armor almost made it seem he was still in the shadows.

"And if it blows up, you'll be one less nuisance I have to worry about." Sigma muttered grinning. "Very well Vile. You may have your second chance. But don't you dare fail me again."

"As you wish Sigma." Vile said disappearing into the shadows.

"You're days are numbered X. I'll get Zero and Mega man too." He said, while laughing.

*                      *                      *

X handed the Chameleon sting to Mega man so they would each have two weapons at their disposal, and since X had the shield, he decided Mega man should have the cloaking ability. However, X didn't realize that Mega man's arm cannon was unable to charge this new style of weapons quite the way he did. Zero was in the rejuvenation chamber, getting repaired when Dr. Cain walked in.

"I've got good news. Not only is Zero recharging, his system is becoming more stable."

"Meaning?" X asked.

"Simply put, he's coming back into existence. I would assume your structure is reforming too." Dr. Cain said, a huge smile on his face. X and Mega man looked at each other and cheered.

"Break man musta got the time device and is on his way." Mega man said, running out of the lab.

"Mega man, where are you going?" X yelled as he followed the blue bomber.

"To the place I appeared. I assume Break man will appear in the same place." Mega man called back. The two made it to where Mega man had first appeared, but there was no portal. Just the wind blowing the grass was all that awaited Mega man. X placed his hand on Mega man's shoulder.

"Give him time. Maybe all that happened was they found the device." X said quietly. Mega man nodded.

"Right, he just needs more time." Mega man said, starting to walk back towards the lab. He reached the hill he had climbed when he had first appeared when the grass in front of him burst into flames.

"Mega man, look out!" X said, racing forward to help. Mega man looked up to see what resembled an elephant standing on its hind legs.

"What's your name? Elephant man?" Mega man said, charging his cannon.

"You creep. The name's Flame Mammoth. And you'll regret that comment." Flame Mammoth leaped into the air and shot off a stream of fire at the blue bomber. Mega man dodged and let off his charged shot. Both attacks missed, but X's shot was right on target. Flame Mammoth looked back and forth. "This ain't fair. Two on one." 

"Be thankful you have those odds. A maverick deserves less." X said, letting off another spray of shots. The bulky robot couldn't dodge, but normal shots weren't very effective against the huge monster. X armed the Rolling Shield while Mega man used the Chameleon sting. They used regular shots since the charged up attacks were meant mainly for defense. The Chameleon sting was about as powerful as the arm cannon, not to mention slower and the Rolling Shield was completely useless. They switched to Storm Tornado and Electric Spark. The electric spark was also useless, but the Storm Tornado did a good job. It knocked the maverick to the ground and kept him there momentarily while dishing out damage. The maverick let out a trumpet from his horn and the warriors had to cover their ears from the sound.

"He won't make honors in music, that's for sure." Mega man joked. The battle was going the way of the maverick hunters when Flame Mammoth managed to score a good hit on Mega man with his snout, knocking the air out of the blue bomber. X went to help, but was hit with a blast from the mavericks flame attack. Flame Mammoth put his extreme weight on X by landing on him, pinning him down. Mega man got up, but only to be knocked back down by a shot from what felt like the rolling cutter. But Cut man wasn't here, was he? He looked up and saw another maverick with a curved blade attached to his head. The maverick looked incredibly agile and he proved it by moving so fast, it could've been mistaken for a teleport. Both hunters were in trouble when suddenly Flame Mammoth trumpeted in pain. But it didn't sound like the previous trumpet. Mega man looked over at the now snoutless Flame Mammoth, and saw Zero holding his glowing saber. Another couple of quick swipes, and the maverick exploded. X picked up the Flame Wave, and went to help Mega man. Zero was about to attack Boomer Kuwanger when a familiar metallic "thunk" was heard from behind. Zero turned around and saw what he had feared. Seated in his walker, was Vile.

"Hello again Zero. How nice to see you again." Vile said, a mocking grin on his face.

"Wish I could say the same." Zero said jumping into the air with his saber slashing. A huge arm shot out from the carrier and grabbed Zero in mid-air. The red hunter struggled to break free, but was unable to move.

"Gee too bad Zero. X! Mega man! Stop where you are." Vile called out. Mega man and X turned around to see a trapped Zero. They stopped their battle with Boomer Kuwanger and lowered their arm cannons.

"Let him go Vile." X said sternly.

"Now why would I do that? I could just crush him if I wanted to. But I have something much better planned." Vile said, turning around to leave.

"You're not going anywhere!" Mega man yelled, letting off a fully powered shot he had been storing. The shot wasn't that effective against the carrier, but the force of impact pushed it forwards.

"My my. Impulsive little brat aren't we." Vile said grinning. "You want a piece of me? Come and get it." Mega man didn't have to be asked twice. He rushed forward, arm cannons blazing.

"Mega man wait. His carrier is too strong for you. Your arm cannons won't even scratch it." X called out, running to help. Vile didn't even counter attack until Mega man was right in front of him. He shot some sort of energy ball at Mega man, and when it hit, Mega man found himself caught in and energy field. His systems basically went on standby, and he was forced to watch as Vile grabbed him with the carriers other fist. X stopped short, realizing he couldn't attack for fear he'd hit one of his friends.

"Well X, it's come down to this. You're friends are helpless, you are weak. Surrender yourself to Sigma and I might let one of them live." Vile said laughing.

"You'll let BOTH of them live." Came a voice behind Vile. A powered up shot hit Vile square in the back and sent him flying out of the carrier.

"Who the hell are you?" Vile screamed, getting up.

"Break man!!!" Mega man cried.

"Hey bro. Don't tell me I gotta save you again!?" Break man said, jumping into the carrier. He hit a few buttons and the hands released their captives.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Mega man said grinning. The four warriors bore down on Vile and Boomer Kuwanger. Boomer teleported out, realizing he was hopelessly outnumbered. Vile looked at the three warriors, and his carrier with the fourth.

"You guys won't get away with this!" Vile roared. He hit a switch on a remote control he produced, and the carrier started to flash.

"Break man, get outta there!" Zero said, running to the carrier.

"I can't. I'm stuck." Break man said, fighting to break free of the magnetic force holding him down. Mega man also went to help, but X held him back.

"Let Zero do it. No sense all four of us getting wasted." X said. Zero leaped into the air, knocking Break man free, but trapping himself in the magnetic hold. There was a bright flash and an explosion.

"ZERO!!!" X cried, shielding his eyes. Even with the visor, Break man had to hide his eyes. When the light from the explosion died down, Vile had vanished, and Zero was lying on the ground, not even breathing. 


	7. Chapter 13 & 14

Chapter 13

"ZERO!" X cried as he knelt by his friend. There was no sign of life, but the crystal on his forehead showed that Zero was still alive. They all teleported back to Dr. Cain's lab. Dr. Cain turned around to see not three, but four robots, one of them down.

"X, what happened?" Dr. Cain asked, walking over to Zero. 

"Vile happened." X said plainly. X explained the explosion and the battle. After a few moments, Dr. Cain stepped back and shook his head.

"It's like he's somehow just simply shut Zero off. Everything is fine with him, except he can't activate any of his protocols.

"So someone turned off the power?" Break man said, for the first time since arriving.

"In a sense, yes." Dr. Cain said, looking at the red and gray robot. "I don't believe we've met."

"He's Break man." X said, looking at his fallen ally.

"Break man..." Dr. Cain said. "The other half of the great team."

"Great team? I like the sound of that." Break man said, a grin spreading across his face. Then he suddenly turned serious. "Mega man, we gotta go back. Wily's on the move and he's pulled out all the stops."

"But what about X and Zero? We can't just leave them one man short." Mega said, looking at the fallen hunter. "We need to help X defeat Sigma."

"We don't have the... time." Break man started. Then he looked down at his hand at the time-teleporter. "Then again, maybe we do. I'll just set it for the time that I left, so we'll get back pretty much just after I left."  
            "You sure that's wise?" Mega man asked. "I mean fooling around with that thing might put us back with the dinosaurs or something."

"Look Mr. Hero. You gotta better idea?" Break man asked. Mega man thought for a minute then shrugged.

"Dr. Cain, how many mavericks are left?" Mega man asked.

"Dr. Cain? Mavericks? What's going on?" Break man said, a puzzled expression on his face.

"I'll tell you later. Just think of it as a new Wily with badder bots." Mega man said grimly.

"Well let's see. You already took out six I believe. Including Vile, there are only 3 major maverick foes left that I can think of."

"Boomer Kuwanger is one of them." X said. "The other one is Launch Octopus. But he'll stick to his water domain."

"So that leaves two mavericks and Sigma." Mega man said.

"Vile is mine." X said quietly, looking at Zero.

"Good enough." Mega man said. "Break man and I will hunt down Boomer Kuwanger, then we can regroup and attack Sigma."

"Oh Mega man, I don't know what weapon will work on Boomer Kuwanger. We seem to be getting relatively lucky lately, so chances are that Launch Octopus has the right weapon." X said, checking his current weapons. X had all of them now, but decided to give the Rolling Shield and Shotgun Ice to Mega man and the Chameleon Sting to Break man.

"Be careful X. He already took out Zero, we can't afford to lose you too." Dr. Cain said, worriedly.

"I'll be fine. Just make sure you two get back in one piece. I've had a rough up with Boomer before and he's no easy win." X said.

"Hey the 'Great Team' will make short work of him." Break man said holding up his cannon.

"Don't get too cocky bro." Mega man said sternly. "These guys can dish out even more than they can take it." They nodded agreement and teleported out.

"I wish I had a brother." X said, then he too teleported out.

"In a way, you do." Dr. Cain said looking at Zero.

*                      *                      *

"What do you mean there's another one?!?" Sigma roared.

"It's true Sigma." Vile said calmly. "Came outta nowhere, took me out from behind, then Boomer chickened out on me. I wanted Zero and Mega man, not a 4-on-1."

"So who is this new hunter?" Sigma said, pacing again.

"Well as bad as it may sound, it's Mega man's brother." Vile responded.

"Brother?" Sigma said stopping short. "This could work out nicely yet. BOOMER KUWANGER! GET IN HERE!" Boomer Kuwanger appeared in the room.

"You wanted me Sigma?" The maverick said, standing on guard.

"I requested your presence, yes. There is another hunter out there, no doubt you know him. I want you to lead him to me. Alone if possible." Sigma said, sitting in a chair.

"Of course. It will be done at once. Shall I get Launch Octopus to help me?"  
            "No. You do not deserve his help. I am only giving you this mission because if I have to look at your pitiful self for much longer I'll rip out your processing chip myself." Sigma growled.

"Y-yes Sigma. I'll leave at once." Boomer Kuwanger said, teleporting out.

"Pathetic excuse for a maverick if you ask me." Vile sneered.

"You're not much better." Sigma said, glaring at the warrior. "Leave me. I wish to be alone."

"You're the boss." Vile said, leaving through a secret alcove. "But not for long."

Chapter 14

X, Break man and Mega man appeared in a dark plain. They looked at each other, then looked up at Sigma's castle. 

"Well we were homed in on Boomer Kuwanger's signal, and you were heading for Vile, so I guess that means they're all inside." Mega man said, eyeing the castle.

"Gee this guy puts Wily to shame." Break man said with a small grin. They walked towards the entrance, but never got there as Boomer Kuwanger intercepted them.

"This is as far as you go." Boomer Kuwanger said.

"Well if it ain't the coward. Sigma get mad and send you back?" X laughed.

"Shut up. No one disgraces Sigma. Prepare to be terminated." Boomer Kuwanger said charging them.

"Now where have I heard that before?" Mega man said while dodging. With the three hunters on one maverick, Boomer Kuwanger was no match. But he was able to teleport in and out so that occasionally the hunters hit one of their friends while firing. But when Boomer Kuwanger threw his boomerang, Mega man grabbed it out of the air and rifled it back. The blade sank deep into the mavericks' chest, and Boomer Kuwanger exploded in a flash of light. Break man grabbed the Boomerang Cutter, and hurried inside. The other two were close behind. As they ran down a hall, Mega man started to slow, then stopped.

"What are you waiting for bro?" Break man said, screeching to a halt.

"Listen. And look around you." Mega man responded. Break man looked around. There was no movement, no life, nothing.

"Quiet... too quiet. If he's anything like Wily, he's got an ace up his sleeve, and we've got a pair of two's." Break man said, forming his cannon.

"Ace? Pair of two's?" X asked, bewildered.

"Never mind. It just means Sigma's waiting for us and it's most likely a trap." Mega man said selecting the Rolling Shield and having the others gather around. They walked slowly as a group, expecting anything and everything, but after a while of nothing happening, they started to relax.

"Something's wrong here. He should have attacked by now." Mega man said.

"Don't forget, we're in Sigma's domain. Maybe he doesn't have the robot producing abilities that Wily has." Break man said, rounding a corner.

"It's possible, but doubtful." X said. "Even if he's alone, Sigma's got something planned for us."  
            "Right as usual, X." Came a voice from apparently nowhere.

"Sigma! Where are you?" X called out to the darkness.

"Waiting for you in my chambers. Come and get me. There will be no resistance until you arrive. Except for a few traps along the way. Ha ha ha ha." With that, the voice faded out and silence reigned. The three started walking again when suddenly Break man yelped. A hole had opened up beneath the red and gray warriors' feet, and below was a bed of spikes.

"Break man!" Mega man said running to help, but a wall appeared and blocked his passage. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine brother. He can't get rid of me that easily. But for now it looks like we'll have to split up. I'll meet up with you later." Break man said, with a grunt. 

"Okay, we'll meet you after we beat Sigma." X said with a grin.

"Don't hog all the fun guys. Give me time to find a way there." Break man said, his voice fading as he got farther away. The remaining two heroes walked on in almost silence. Though they were both fully trained warriors, they kept their talk to a minimum to concentrate on their surroundings. The finally arrived at an intersection that had 4 paths, not including the one they came from.

"Oh great. Now what do we do?" X said, looking the paths over.

"If Rush and Beat were here, I could have them scout out two, but they aren't. Do you have any robotic allies?" Mega man asked.

"No. We haven't created any animals like the ones you had. And the only hunters with the skill to challenge Sigma directly are me and Zero." X responded. He fired a shot of plasma down the corridor second to the right to see how far it went. To his disbelief, a wall of spikes shot out and hit the shot.

"Ouch! That could have been me." Mega man said, looking at the retracting spikes. The other paths didn't yield any results when fired down, but there were still three to choose from.

"Well we aren't getting anywhere just standing here." X said. "I'll take the one on the far left." He said pointing to the left.

"I guess I'll try this one." Mega man said, heading for the one just left of the trapped corridor. "Keep in touch." Mega man said tapping his helmet's communicator. X nodded and headed down his corridor. There was relatively no action until he rounded a left corner and almost smacked into a red form.

"Zero!" X said, startled. "How'd you get here? Was Dr. Cain able to repair you already?"

"Yeah. It wasn't as bad as we thought. It was just a simple energy lockdown." Zero said.

"Great. Now we have another person to check out that last corridor." X said.

"Don't bother. I already checked out this corridor. There's nothing down there. We should both head back."

"Okay then. There's only one corridor left so we shouldn't have a problem. Mega man, how's your search goin?" X said into his communicator.

"This sucker goes on forever. No corners or anything. If I keep this up I'll walk back to the front gate after going around the world!" Came the reply. X chuckled as he headed back to the main intersection.

"So Zero, How did you get in anyway? I was sure we took the only feasible entrance and we didn't pass you." X asked while walking. He heard the crackle of energy as he walked along. "Hold up Zero. Do you hear that? Zero?" X turned around to see the green flash of a light saber come down on X. He dodged, but the saber sliced through his left side.

"You're done for X." Zero said as he turned from red to shades of gray.

"Zero? Why? What's happened?" X said as he collapsed into unconsciousness. 

"Zero? There is no Zero here. I am his clone. A superior model." The clone said as he laughed into the darkness.

*                      *                      *

"X is everything okay? What was that?" Mega man said into his communicator, but not getting a response. "Damn. I hope it's not interference." He continued walking and finally saw a bend in the corridor. Thankful that he hadn't been walking towards the end of the earth, he rounded the bend and slammed into a red and gray robot.

"Damn it bro, why can't you watch where you're going?" Break man said.

"I'm glad to see you too." Mega man said, rubbing his forehead.

"This is crazy. It's like these corridors are just one big maze. I found at least four dead ends before running into you." Break man said, standing up before helping his brother do the same.

"Something's up. I lost contact with X, and there's no interference that I can tell. Not to mention he seemed to be in panic and possibly under attack." 

"We should head back. Meet you there." Break man said starting off.

"Wait up. There's traps ahead!" Mega man said. Break man stopped just before the pit opened in front of him.

"Now you tell me. I just got out of those things. I sure don't wanna find myself at the bottom again." He said with a half-grin.

"But you seemed to have so much fun!" Came a voice from down the hall. A figure stood in the shadows, looking right at them.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Mega man ordered, secretly charging his arm cannon.

"You're pathetic Mega man. With X and Zero out of the way, you'll be next." Came the dark voice. Mega man had to duck as a glowing energy sphere just missed him.

"I recognize that attack. If I'm the pathetic one, why are you hiding in the shadows like a coward Vile?" Mega man said reaching full charge in his cannon.

"A coward? Me? You'll regret those words." He said as he fired up his rocket pack and screamed towards Mega man. Mega man released his charged buster shot and it hit Vile square in the chest knocking him backwards. The jet back carried him up and through the ceiling to another floor.

"He's as dense as Guts man." Break man said with a grin.

"Even with time they don't get too much brighter." Mega man said laughing. Then his face got serious. "He said with Zero AND X out of the way... Does that mean they got to X? We've gotta hurry bro." Break man only nodded as they both took off at a run down the hallway. 


	8. Chapter 15 & 16

Chapter 15

"Excellent work my clone." Sigma said as he examined the unconscious X. "Though I can't say the same for you, you waste of scrap." He said turning to Vile. The purple robot had gone through a bit of hell. Not being able to deactivate his rocket pack, it had taken him through numerous traps. His left leg was severed below the knee and his right arm hung limply from his body.

"Sigma please. I need to enter the repair cycle." Vile pleaded, his body under massive damage.

"No. You have disappointed me for the last time. Destroy him my clone." The gray zero clone stepped forward bringing out his light saber. Vile backed away as best his battered body would allow. When he reached a wall, his hand groped for a hidden switch and opened a section of the wall. He fell backwards into the darkness as the wall closed behind him. The Zero clone looked to Sigma for orders, but Sigma shook his head.

"Do not pursue him. Soon his damage will cause him to self-destruct. Mega man and his friend draw near. I will allow you the pleasure of destroying them." Sigma said, his laughter echoing down the hall.

*                      *                      *

Mega man came to a halt. He could hear the laughter and it shook him to his soul.

"What's up bro?" Break man said looking back.

"Something's not right. We haven't come across any traps lately, and it's too quiet." 

"Hey don't knock our good fortune. This guy definitely isn't Wily when it comes to fortresses." Break man said laughing. Though inside his guard was going up as well. They walked forward a while more when suddenly a gate slammed shut behind them. "I told you not to wish for bad luck." Break man said raising his cannon and shield. Nothing appeared to happen until Mega man caught a flash of red to his left. A spray of three shots came in their direction.

"Break man, move it!" Mega man said dodging. Break man was in the air before Mega man had said anything. The red orb winked out as a green one replaced it. This one moved as it shot single shots. Both brothers opened fire on it, and after a few hits, it retreated into its alcove. Then a pit of spikes opened in the middle of the room and the walls started to move in.

"Oh great now what?" Break man said, pushing against the wall. Mega man looked at the weapons X had given him. He armed the shotgun ice and started pumping the walls. The shards of the blast went everywhere but the wall wasn't even slowed by the freezing power. The sphere reappeared this time, only it was blue. It tried to knock the brothers into the pit of spikes. Mega man dodged it only to be struck in the back by another one.

"Two of them? One was bad enough. How you holding up bro?" Mega man said, returning fire to a blue orb.

"Well a little help would be appreciated." Break man said, his hands holding the side of the pit. The blue orb would ricochet of the wall where Break man had been only seconds before, each strike getting closer. One hit would send him to his doom.

"Got it covered." Mega man said firing at the blue orb attacking Break man. It shattered like glass and Break man crawled back up to the floor. They quickly finished off the remaining orb as the walls continued to get closer.

"We've got to get out of here!" Break man said, being pushed towards the spikes. There was a crash as a ceiling grate came falling to the ground, a purple figure right behind it. Vile didn't move right away, his body in even worse shape than before.

"VILE! Oh this I don't need." Mega man said looking at the walls, then back at Vile.

"Oh no not the Face... Get me outta here!" Vile said, taking in his surroundings.

"The face?" Break man said. For the first time he looked around and indeed, implanted on the wall, was a machine that basically looked like a face. The orbs had been its "eyes".

"Okay so it's a face. How do we stop these walls?" Mega man said, noticing his shotgun ice was half gone.

"Why would I help you? Maybe once you're gone Sigma will appreciate me." Vile said with a sneer.

"Well from the looks of you, You've got as good a chance of getting out of here as we do if we don't stop this thing." Break man said, firing at the wall with his chameleon sting. Vile looked around and then at his tattered body. He knew that he had no chance of escape even if the walls did stop.

"DAMN. Alright you gotta totally destroy the face." Vile said.

"We took out the eyes, what's left?" Break man said, looking around. It stuck out like a sore thumb. An odd contraption that had to be the "nose". All three opened fire, Vile getting off a shot to every five of the brothers. Finally the nose shattered, but the walls didn't stop.

"It's not possible. The machine is toast. Why won't it stop?" Vile wailed, fearing his destruction. Mega man looked around for anything they could have missed. Though his eyes kept going back to the spikes getting closer. The spikes?

"We forgot something. The teeth!" Mega man said arming his arm cannon and letting off a constant pulse of shots into the spikes. Break man followed suit and soon enough of the spikes were destroyed that the walls came to a shuddering halt. Even if the walls had continued moving they could have landed safely in the pit. Mega man turned back to where Vile had been... but he was no longer there.

"We shoulda finished him off." Break man said frustrated.

"Hey we couldn't have figured that out by ourselves. Just think of it as even." Mega man said as the walls started to retract. They left the room through the newly opened gate and headed down the hallway.

"Not after what he did to Zero we're not." Break man said with a growl. Mega man eyed him but gave it no more thought as they heard familiar laughter echo throughout the halls. 

*                      *                      *

"So the face fell. It doesn't concern me." Sigma said as he got the report from his computer. They had somehow avoided his spider, but that too didn't bother him. X was restrained on a table, still unconscious. He would need a decent dose of energy to revive him. Sigma heard a growl behind him and his loyal wolf pet came up beside him. He sat watching the pit from which the warriors would have to arrive.

"Soon they shall come. Then you may destroy them." Sigma said sitting in his command chair. The wolf just sat and stared. Sigma looked over at a view screen to see Mega man and Break man advancing on his position. They were at a half run, occasionally slowing when a few of his robot minions came around. He had great pleasure watching them battle his tank, but great displeasure when he saw how easily they finished it off. Maybe these two were going to give him more trouble than he thought. He heard a figure warp in and turned to see his Zero clone staring at him.

"You promised they would be mine to destroy!" He said calmly. He looked at Sigma's pet wolf. 

"I promised nothing. I said you COULD destroy them, that is if you're lucky enough to finish them before they do you in." Sigma said coldly. The clone shifted from his shades of gray to red.

"I'll destroy them both before they realize that I'm not their friend." He said jumping down the pit.

"Aggressive isn't he my pet? It will be his downfall." Sigma said looking after the clone.

Chapter 16

"What do you mean he went after Mega man?" Dr. Light said as Dr. Cossack sat near his old friend.

"We had just discovered the device when he grabbed it and took off. The warp closed as soon as he went in so I couldn't even send Pharaoh man to back him up." Dr. Cossack said stroking his beard.

"What could he have been thinking? I need him to defend the lab. Wily is marching as we speak." Dr. Light said growing frantic. Pharaoh man, Ring man, Bright man and Skull man then entered the room. 

"We heard Wily is on the way. We want to back up the base." Bright man said. The others nodded. "We owe him for what he made us do back then."

"I thank you for your aid, but what about Dr. Cossacks lab?" Dr. Light said. 

"Wily has shown no interest in my lab before. At least not since he's been able to copy my designs anyway." Dr. Cossack said. Roll entered with Rush, Beat and Eddie right behind.

"They insist they help out as well Dr. Light." Roll said, motioning towards the robotic allies. Rush barked and growled, and then sat beside Dr. Light.

"Well let's get the base set up then. There's no doubt that he'll try to destroy all of us once and for all with Mega man out of the way."

*                      *                      *

"Hold up bro." Break man said. "Do you hear that?" Mega man looked around and nodded there was the sound of metallic footsteps heading in their direction. A shadowed form could soon be seen walking towards them, which soon came into view.

"ZERO!" Mega man said running forward. "You're okay!"

"Yeah I'm fine. Where's X?" Zero said looking at the brothers.

"Sounds like Sigma's got him. We lost contact roughly 3 hours ago." Mega man said looking worried.

"We're getting close. He's just up ahead. I heard him talking to his pet and someone else. Looks like they're waiting for us with open arms... or should I say armed weapons." He walked towards them when he suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong Zero?" Break man said as he looked behind him to where Zero was looking. He did a double take. There were two Zero's? One on either side of them.

"Uh, bro, I think something's wrong with my optic sensors. I could swear there are two of them." Break man said. Mega man looked between the two as they leaped into the air. They started a fierce battle exchange blow for blow, and light saber attack for light saber attack.

"Which one's the real Zero?" Mega man said not sure what to do. Then he thought of something.

"So what do we do bro? They'll kill each other at this rate." Break man said, forming his arm cannon.

"Nothing yet. Just charge up and wait." Mega man said. Break man looked at him almost stunned. Did he want Zero to get destroyed? Why wasn't he acting? Then after a decent hit by both Zero's, Mega man noticed the forehead beacons start to flash. Though both of them were flashing. Whichever was the fake had been built really well.

"We can't wait any longer bro. Zero's hurt bad." Break man said, though still not sure which to shoot. One of the Zero's looked over at them.

"I'm fine. It's nothing more than a scratch." The one Zero said.

"BINGO!" Mega man said, letting off his fully charged shot at the other Zero. Break man followed suit, not sure how his brother knew the difference, but he was usually right. With two warriors and Zero attacking, the other Zero turned gray and soon exploded in a burst of fire. As Zero went to a knee to recover his breath, he looked over at the brothers.

"Took you long enough. Dr. Cain figured the lockdown, but I'm not at full power you know." Zero said, placing his light saber on his back.

"What I wanna know," Break man said, "Was how you figured out the real one." Mega man grinned as he looked at his brother.

"Cuz he's got the same problem you do brother. He just won't admit that he's being hammered. Not to mention refusing to back down." Mega man responded. He dodged a playful attack from Break man and Zero had to chuckle, though wasn't quite sure if it was meant as a compliment.

"Alright you two. Let's go get X back." Zero said. The brothers nodded as they started heading down the corridor.

*                      *                      *

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Vile roared as the three warriors walked down the hall. "Zero should have been destroyed, never mind at least deactivated. And he's fine? I'll get my revenge..." Vile hoisted his body back into the air duct. He had slowly found tools to do enough repairs to keep himself from self-destructing, but he was far from battle-ready. His left leg was still missing, but he managed to build a makeshift arm. It was a simple lever, but it served its purpose in aiding him through the air ducts. He exited Sigma's Lair, and made his way to the surrounding forest. He knew he would have to get to a city for the necessary materials for full repairs. Though the nearest city wasn't exactly fond of Vile. It was the same one he had been attacking when Zero and X had thwarted his attack. He limped towards flame mammoths' old base, knowing there would still be a bunch of machinery and tools there. He might be able to repair himself there. Or so he hoped. 


	9. Chapter 17 & 18

Chapter 17

"Eh? What's this?" Sigma said looking at his view screen. Zero was back with the two brothers, and his clone lay scrapped back down the hallway. "Zero's alive? This is getting more difficult by the minute." He looked back at X. He knew he would be unable to clone him in time, and reprogramming was out of the question as he didn't have such knowledge. He could destroy him, but then Sigma would lose his bargaining chip. Then he realized something. Why was he worrying? He was more powerful then X and Zero, why should these two out of date warriors scare him? He went back to his throne and sat down. They shouldn't, but they did. 

*                      *                      *

Mega man stopped short. The others turned to look at him but they had heard it too. An undeniable gate opening. Mega man and Break man charged their cannons while Zero drew his light saber. Then it came. A massive wave of robots was coming from all directions. Arm cannons were blazing and the constant flash of a light saber could be seen somewhere in the midst of the battle.

"I was wondering where the challenge was." Zero said above the explosion of robots.

"This guy pulls out all the stops all at once." Break man said. "He's nothing like Wily who does his some at a time." Suddenly Zero stopped. He stared blankly off into space before he grabbed his head and fell to his knees.

"Zero!" Mega man said, going over to help the red warrior. The robots were having a field day at the now defenseless maverick hunter, and he was nearing critical status. Mega man and Break man got to him and protected their friend the best they could.

"What's wrong with you man?" Break man said, taking out a mechanical bat as it got closer than he preferred. Suddenly Zero stood up again and regained his composure. His blade was a frenzy as the remainder of the bots fell. The couple that had survived were the ones that had high-tailed it when they saw Zero's frenzy.

"Are you okay?" Mega man said, putting his hand on Zero's shoulder.  The hunter shook his head.

"I don't know. Something deep in my mind began to resurface. Something about my past. Something I don't want to remember." Zero said, resheathing his light saber. Mega man decided to not press the subject since Zero obviously detested whatever it had been. Break man, however, decided to keep a closer eye on the red hunter. Something he had seen deep inside Zero's energy core. There was no mistaking the large "W" that dignified one of Wily's creations.

Chapter 18

The three hunters came to a long vertical chamber.

"Oh this is great. How are we supposed to climb this thing?" Break man said, looking up but not seeing the end of the chamber.

"Like this!" Zero said, wall kicking up to a good six feet before sliding back down. "Well come on, let's go!"

"We can't wall jump Zero. We can't dash either. We were given the sliding ability." Mega man said, looking at the walls, looking for at least a handhold. Zero started wall kicking up and out of sight.

"Once I'm there, I'll read you the co-ordinates. Warp up from there." Zero said into his communicator. Below, the brothers nodded and waited. Soon enough there was a beep and the warp points were set. The brothers zipped up and appeared at the top of the pit. It was dark and there was little light. There was one light across the room however. They could see X chained to a table, not moving.

"X!" Zero said, moving to help his comrade. A low growl from behind him stopped him short and he saw a purple wolf slowly come out of the shadows. "That's Sigma's pet wolf. Don't underestimate him. He's taken out many a good hunter." The brothers nodded, looking over their weapons. Mega man armed the Shotgun Ice while Break man armed the Boomerang Cutter. Zero got his saber out and the three prepared for battle. The wolf just sat and stared at them. Mega man let off a shot and it passed right through him.

"Hologram! Move it!" Zero said. But the warning came too late. Break man was knocked to the ground, Mega man soon after. The wolf leapt at Zero and almost succeeded in knocking him down, but Zero dodged to the left. He brought his light saber down, but it never struck the wolf. A similar energy saber had parried his attack. Zero looked up into the eyes of Sigma.

"Take care of them my pet." Sigma commanded, eyeing Zero. The wolf obeyed without hesitation, leaping for Mega man's throat. The blue warrior slid underneath the attack and whirled, but by the time he had managed to get a shot off, the wolf was already on the move. Zero slashed and jumped, but his energy was low and Sigma was always a step ahead of him. Sigma parried one particular blow then punched Zero in the face. The attack knocked Zero backwards and he stumbled for a bit. A second blow knocked Zero to the ground and Sigma moved in to finish him off. He raised his light saber when his arm was torn off and it flew across the room. The Boomerang Cutter returned to Break man as he gave a salute and dodged an attack from the wolf.

"Gee now you look a little tired Sigma. Why don't you lay down?" Zero said as he kicked him in the stomach. Sigma doubled over only to meet with an uppercut. Sigma landed heavily on the ground. Mega man finally tagged the wolf with the shotgun ice, and incased it in a block of solid ice. The three hunters surrounded the wounded Sigma as Zero raised his saber to Sigma's chest.

"Any last words Sigma?" Zero said, preparing to strike.

"As a matter of fact I do. Initiate program Wily Beta Zero A." Zero suddenly collapsed to the floor, his energy saber rolling away.

"What the hell?" Mega man said, as Sigma knocked his brother away. He dodged backwards as Sigma stood up and looked at Mega man.

"His emergency shut down sequence. Dr. Cain found it after we had stopped his maverick rampage." Sigma said, his now freed wolf coming to his side. He was panting heavily and obviously the ice had done severe damage to the wolf.

"Maverick rampage?" Mega man asked in disbelief. "Are you trying to tell me he was like you?" 

"It's true bro. He was designed that way." Break man said, lifting himself to his feet.

"What?! How do you know?" Mega man said looking at his brother.

"Remember when I spoke of Wily and he went into that fit? And notice how Wily's name was incorporated into the emergency program? And that's not all. Watch this. WILY!" he shouted as he pointed to Zero. Sure enough, the "W" appeared brightly. "Wily made him bro."

"Now that I wasn't aware of." Sigma said, looking at the maverick hunter. "Enough of this. Prepare for your destruction."

"Enough is enough all right." Mega man said. His shotgun ice blazed across the room, and the damaged wolf was too slow to avoid. The wolf exploded in a bright flash as the ice hit dead on.

"You! You destroyed my pet! Now it's personal." Sigma said leaping at Mega man. He went to slash with his right arm, but he had forgotten it was no longer attached. Break man leaned over and picked up Zero's light saber.

"Mind if I borrow this?" He said. He whipped it at Sigma and it embedded itself in Sigma's midsection. He gasped as the energy sliced through him, then roared in fury as his body started to explode. When the fire and light died down. There was nothing left that they could see. The brothers walked over and looked at X and Zero.

"I've had enough of this place. Shall we go?" Break man said half-heartedly. His energy was low from the battles and he could use a recharge. Mega man nodded. They each grabbed a hunter and warped back to Dr. Cain's lab. 


	10. Chapter 19 Final

Chapter 19

"The main guns have been taken out!" Roll yelled down from her turret station. Dr. Light was working on repairing the damaged rush and beat, when the news came. They were fighting a losing battle. Ring man, Skull man and Bright man had been completely destroyed, Pharaoh man had taken too much damage to continue battling. Suddenly there was silence and Dr. Light knew what was next.

"Give it up Thomas. It's over. Surrender and I might let you live." Came Dr. Wily's voice. Dr. Light didn't even hear him. He continued working on rush, but a shudder from the buildings supports brought him back to consciousness.

"This is your last warning Light! I'm coming in, so lay down your defenses and surrender." Dr. Light sank to his knees. He heard metallic footsteps come down the hallway and the cold touch of a steel hand touch his shoulder.

"I'd rather die than surrender to you..." he said softly.

"Funny, I feel the same way." Came a familiar voice. Dr. Light looked up into Mega man's eyes and he hugged his creation tightly. 

"You're back. Thank goodness. I was so worried."

"Hey come on now, you're gonna crush me! Besides I know of a certain doctor that needs to be dealt with." Mega man said as he raises his arm cannon. Break man entered the room carrying a device.

"Yeah won't he be surprised to see us back. Oh and I've got the device." Break man said, putting two gadgets on a table.

"We should destroy them immediately." Dr. Light said as he reached for a hammer.

"NO!" they both cried in unison. Break man picked them back up. "At least not yet."

"I'll trust you have a good reason." Dr. Light said. Roll called down from the turret bay again.

"Dr. Light, there's two robots up her and their fighting off Wily's robot masters!" She said.

"What? I must see this." He said as he turned to leave. Mega man stopped him.

"You can't do that. We'll explain later, but for the time being, I need rush operational." Mega man said as he headed for the gate. Dr. Light simply nodded, going back to work on Rush.

"You'd better have a good explanation for all of this Mega man." Dr. Light said as Mega man reached the gate.

"Don't I always?" He said running out to the battle, Break man close behind. They reached the main door, but kept to the shadows. Wily though they had been caught in the future and therefore had the element of surprise. Mega man noticed his shotgun ice was VERY low on energy so he switched to the rolling shield. Though after realizing what it did, he went back to his tried and true Mega Buster. Break man had grown quite fond of the Boomerang Cutter, so he kept it active. They made their way to sneak up behind Wily's forces when a purple and black figure stepped out of the shadows.

"I'm glad you're back. Now I can get my revenge." Bass said, Treble coming up beside him, growling.

"You mean you didn't like your electric bath?" Break man said with a mock grin. Mega man looked at his brother and realized the two had had a meeting with Break man being the victor. Bass and Treble morphed together and dived at the duo. They both dodged and attacked. Mega man's buster went wide, but Break man's cutter hit bass on the return flight, knocking him out of the air for a brief moment.

"What the hell weapon is that? Wily never made that kind of robot!" Bass screamed tossing the cutter to the ground.

"That's for sure. And we're grateful he didn't." Mega man said, taking Bass's hesitation and letting off a charged shot. Bass took the hit and jumped back up. Treble was forced to disengage, the cutter hitting one of his wings.

"This isn't over Break man." Bass said charging off. 

"Hold up Bass!" Break man said. Bass turned and caught the item that was thrown to him. He looked at the device and recognized it as a particular program chip that Wily had been developing. "You're fearless leader dropped this into that stuff I stole!" Bass disappeared into the trees

Mega man grinned, but then ducked as a piece of Shadow man flew overhead. He grabbed Shadow man's weapon, the Shadow Blade, and started heading towards the battlefield.

"Looks like those two are hogging all the fun!" Break man complained as they came out behind Wily's floating saucer. He had the hatch open and was barking orders to his creations as they were getting taken down one by one. Mega man armed the Shadow Blade, and threw it. It landed square in Crash man's back, and the robot master exploded. Wily saw the flash of light and turned around. His face fell as he saw Break man toss the Crash Bomb adapter to Mega man.

"They're back! We're surrounded!" Wily said, looking around. He closed the hatch on his saucer and took off.

"Hey boss, where ya goin? Don't leave us behind!" Guts man said watching the saucer take off. He barely had enough time to think as Mega man launched a Crash Bomb and it latched onto Guts mans' chest. He looked down as it exploded, along with Guts man. Bass came out of the trees from his sniping position.  
            "All units retreat! Get back to the base! We're not here to clean up Wily's mistakes." Bass said, grabbing Treble and teleporting out. There was another explosion as X took out Star man. The remainder of Wily's forces, which were now eight robot masters out of the 32 that had marched, retreated towards their base. The brothers did not pursue.

"Thanks X." Mega man said to the warrior on top of the lab.

"No problem Mega man." He called back, jumping down. The four grouped together as they watched Wily's robots run off.

"What was that you gave that one robot Break man?" Zero asked as he resheathed his light saber.

"To be frank, it was your existence." Break man said with a grin. Zero shot him a confused look, but didn't push the subject. "Now you'd better hurry before Dr. Light goes nuts and sees you guys."

"Though I wish I could see my creator, you are right." X said, lowering his gaze. Mega man understood how he felt, then grabbed Break man's arm cannon. He retracted the two weapons, as well as the ones he held, and gave them to X.

"We shouldn't have these. You'll need them in your battles." Mega man said. Then his face lit up. "Hey X, you can charge those weapons right?" X looked up.

"Yes. But what good..." He looked at his weapons and the Chameleon Sting registered. The charged up form of C. Sting would give him invisibility. He nodded and started charging the weapon. Once he was fully charged, he released the energy and he faded from sight. They saw the metal footprints run to the lab, as the weight of X's foot pushed the grass down. X entered the lab and after heading down the main corridor, entered the main control room. He saw a short, white haired man working away on a mechanical dog, obviously Mega mans' ally Rush. He moved about the room to get a better look at Dr. Light when the scientist looked up to wipe his brow of sweat. X sighed contentedly as he got his first look at the living and healthy Dr. Light. Suddenly Rush's head lifted up and he started to growl in X's direction. The dog's sense of smell was easily overpowering his cloaking.

"What is it Rush? Stay down so I can finish repairs!" Dr. Light ordered, but he would have nothing of it. Rush jumped down to the ground, then yelped as his legs gave out beneath him.

"I told you, now get back up here. You'll get to help Mega man soon. I'm almost done." Dr. Light said, half annoyed but also half laughing at Rush's stubbornness. X noticed that his cloaking would wear off soon as the weapons energy got low, so he retreated out the main door, back to the group. He got to the group just as his cloaking vanished.

"Thanks Mega man. It was great to see him in the flesh, rather than in a hologram." X said with a smile.

"Hey you deserve it. We couldn't have beaten off Wily without your help." Mega man said.

"Well you kinda saved our rears from Sigma too!" Zero replied.

"So we're even then. Though you two had better head back to your own time. Dr. Cain will be worried." Mega man said, looking at the time device.

"Not yet. We have to do something first." Zero said, looking at the brothers. Break man looked at Zero oddly, then smiled as Zero produced his shield. "I managed to tear this away from Magnet man after I scrapped him."

"Hey, can't go anywhere without that!" Break man said grinning. Mega man pushed a button on the time device and the green portal opened.

"I guess this is goodbye then X." Mega man said. "It was fun." The others nodded their agreement. Zero went through the portal without looking back. X was standing in front of it when he turned to look at the brothers.

"Mega man, I've gotta know. Is it true that Zero was a maverick?" Mega man stood silent. Break man looked away, staring at the ground.

"Yeah he was. But there's a good reason. He'll be one of Wily's creations, and most likely our destroyer." Break man finally said.

"Then the thing you gave Bass... Was Zero's programming chip?" X asked. Mega man nodded.

"It was one of the things Break man had stolen to find the time device. After all we know we'll eventually be destroyed, and frankly I'd prefer if it were by Zero. At least he's a friend. Better him then one of Wily's pathetic robot masters. Besides, he'll be one of the greatest hunters in the future." Mega man said while looking at X. "Besides, we aren't supposed to know the future anyway."

"Mega man, you truly were... are the greatest hunter of them all. Forever and always." X said as he stepped through the portal. Once he was through, Mega man closed the portal, then smashed the device. Then he tossed it on the ground and vaporized it with a shot of plasma from his cannon. Suddenly Rush came bounding up beside him, Dr. Light close behind waving a wrench in the air as he chased him.

"Damn it rush will you come back here. I'm not finished!" Both Mega man and Break man broke out laughing as the scientist chased Rush around the yard.

"It's good to be home." Mega man said as he headed back to the lab. "Don't you think so bro? Break man?" He looked behind him, but Break man was nowhere to be seen. "Looks like some things never change."

"They sure don't brother. Don't worry though. I'll be watching." Break man said from a tree limb. He put his shield on his back and teleported out.


End file.
